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Episode 935: A Round Podcast with a Round Bat
Date August 4, 2016 Summary Ben and Sam banter about a hard-to-believe baseball ad, then answer listener emails about the NL Central, GM metadata, Aaron Sanchez, deceptive debuts and more. Topics * Heavy NL Central competition * Access to GM metadata * Pitching performance terminology * Deceptively bad debuts * Aaron Sanchez Cy Young consideration * Ted Williams' 'Round ball, round bat' saying Intro The Jackson 5, "Lookin' Through the Windows" Outro Jay Z and Kanye West, "Otis" Banter * Sam is amused by a baseball radio ad for Marvin Windows that offers a chance to win an all-expense paid trip to Warroad, MN in February to tour the factory. He struggles to understand how the ad could appeal to more than 10 people similar to past commercials discussed in Episode 503. Email Questions * Sean: "Obviously the Cubs are the odds on favorite to win the central this year and the Cardinals have been pretty dominant the last couple years and neither team should see their window of dominance closing soon given their organizational strengths. On the other hand the Pirates are generally considered a well run organization, the Brewers have assembled one of the two best farm systems in baseball in the span of less than a year, and the Reds have quietly made some pretty good moves coupled with some luck with respect to player development. So my question is, who is the next non Cubs or Cardinals team to win the NL Central?" * Vinit: "You are a GM; how much would you pay to have the metadata of every front office phone lines? As in, phone numbers they've dialed, how long they are on the call, etc. At the least you'd be able to call simple sales bluffs. Assume this is all legal: how much would you pay for it? If it's three days before the trade deadline does the price go up substantial? What if you were promised that no other GM would have it or even know that you have it?" * Marcus: "At what value of X should one cease to employ the term 'threw a X hitter'? I posit that it is four. That is the term 5-hitter should not be used." * Brad: "I'm a huge Blue Jays fan and now post-deadline it's been confirmed that Aaron Sanchez will become a reliever. Currently he sits at 139 1/3 innings and assuming the Jays keep their word he will get to roughly 160-180. My question is twofold: if he is sent to the pen what does he have to do statistically in order to stay in the Cy Young conversation or obtain a vote or two? If you think there is nothing he could do in the pen to keep him Cy Young relevant, how long do you think he would need to stay in the rotation to get any Cy Young consideration?" * Steve: "I recently heard someone reiterate Ted Williams' supposed quote about the hardest activity in sports being hitting a round ball with a round bat. I also realized that I didn't have any idea what this is supposed to mean. Obviously a flat bat, like a cricket bat, would make striking a round object easier, but a square ball and round ball seems equally difficult. Similarly, it seems nearly impossible to hit with any effectiveness using a square bat against a round ball, or a square ball for that matter. Anyway, what was Williams trying to convey with this adage? Can we do better as a sport in coming up with a shorthand for describing what it requires to succeed as a hitter?" Play Index * Sam uses the Play Index to look up players who had low OPS+ in their rookie season but went on to be an All-Star in their career. It was inspired by Alex Bregman's 1-32 debut. * There are 89 players in history that had an OPS+ of under 60 in their rookie season and then went on to make an All-Star game. * In 102 plate appearances in his rookie season (1969), Amos Otis had a 13 OPS+. Notes * Sam thinks in 2020 the Brewers will be in a good place to compete within the NL Central. * Ben feels that having metadata access could be valuable to call the bluffs of another GM but is not sure how often that happens. Sam is worried he would spend too much time trying to make sense of the information. * Sam, on metadata usage, "You would probably just screw it up because you suck". Links * Effectively Wild Episode 935: A Round Podcast with a Round Bat Category:Episodes Category:Email Episodes